November heatwave a 150-year record

MELBOURNE is copping a slightly sweaty taste of summer, set to toss and turn through its longest and hottest November temperatures in more than 150 years.

The Victorian capital has hit the halfway point of a steaming hot week which started last weekend, and there’s little relief in sight until this one.

If temperatures stay as high as predicted, it will be Melbourne’s first seven-day spell of 28C-plus weather in the 155 years since official records began.

Today’s temperature hit 31.1C at 2pm in the city.

Wednesday and Thursday will again be 31C, Friday is forecast to hit 30C and Saturday 28C.

The nights are just as record-breaking. Already it’s had more than a week of overnight temperatures of more than 15C. If that continues until Saturday, it’s likely to be a November record.

And it’s not the only part of Australia experiencing a pre-summer swelter.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Adelaide too is wiping the sweat beads from its brow, with a warm Monday night spiralling back up into the mid-30s today.

Adelaide had a top temperature of 35C on Monday and stayed firmly in the mid-to-high 20s overnight.

At 6pm yesterday it was still 33C in the City of Churches, and at midnight temperatures dropped to 29C — that’s about 11C above the November average, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

It’s expected to hit a maximum of 35C again today, with hot northeast winds. A maximum of 32C is expected on Wednesday, ahead of a comfortable cool change kicking in Wednesday afternoon or evening dropping maximum temperatures back to the mid-20s.

The weekend looks like tops of 24C on Saturday and 27C on Sunday.

TASMANIA

Meanwhile, Tasmania is braced for its version of a spring heatwave with Hobart set to record six consecutive days on or above 25C in November for the first time in almost 130 years, the weather bureau’s Tim Bolden told ABC.

“[We are] currently forecasting 28C for Tuesday, 29C for Wednesday and 29C for Thursday, having reached 30C last Saturday, 27C on Sunday and 27C on Monday,” he said.

“If we make it to that stretch of six days above 25 degrees, that would be a record heat spell for November, and equal to the maximum heat spell for the Hobart area that we’ve ever seen.”

The unseasonable hot conditions have prompted health warnings to the young and elderly, especially in southern Tasmania, where temperatures are expected to top 30C in some areas.

NSW Sydney is also warming up towards summer. Tuesday has been a comfortable 23C, but as the weekend approaches that will rise to hit 28C for Saturday and Sunday. It will be steamy too, with a few showers forecast into Monday.

QUEENSLAND

Brisbane is warming up for the final weeks of spring, with the temperature moving between 25C and 28C all this week. Expect steamy humidity though, with showers on the radar until Monday.

Perth is expected to stay upsides of 30C all week, as is a stormy, hot Darwin.